8 Out of 10
by coral2000
Summary: Hibiya's interactions with everyone in the Dan. Because everyone needs a little support sometimes. Used to be called "As a Mother Would."
1. As a Mother Would (1)

**I don't own Kagerou Project or Mekakucity Actors or the picture which may be accessed here: **. ?id=145719 **. So, yeah.**

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_What was that crying sound?_

Kido scowled in annoyance, jerking up in her bed and looking around. Momo was fast asleep, her mouth slightly open. Marry's bed was empty, but it always was. She, apparently, couldn't sleep without Seto. Sometimes, Kido wondered why they even had a bed for her anyways.

She swung her legs off the side of the bed and padded over to the kitchen to get herself some hot water before identifying the person crying. But, on the way there, she passed the sound of the crying somewhere she never expected to hear it from – Hibiya's room.

Why was _he_ crying? He always seemed kind of depressed, but he handled himself with sarcasm and solitude and maturity. He was one of the last people in the Dan that she'd expect to hear bawling their eyes out in the middle of the night.

Sighing deeply, Kido carefully opened the door and slipped into the room.

"Hey."

Startled, Hibiya looked up from where he was curled up on his bed and began furiously wiping tears from his eyes.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"I heard crying." She sighed again, sitting on the edge of the bed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong. Now _go away._" Hibiya pressed his lips together in an angry frown, determined not to say anything.

Kido didn't move. She just sat there, weighing her options and waiting for him to crack.

A long silence stretched between them. Finally, Hibiya muttered, "I miss her. Hiyori, I mean."

Kido nodded and waited for him to go on.

"I've liked her since forever… and now she's dead. Because of me."

The silence continued before Kido cleared her throat awkwardly. "When someone you love dies, it can be hard. But that doesn't mean you can't go on living. You have to."

"Don't tell me what to do," Hibiya said angrily, tears reforming. "Why am I alive? Hiyori should be the one alive, but she's stuck in the daze, and I should've died… _I should've died._"

"Don't reflect on what happened. You can't change it anymore. I know what it feels like to have someone you love die. My sister, Ayano-"

"_That's not the same!"_

Kido scowled, but she quickly smoothed her features into a placid expression and waited.

"I'm sorry."

His voice was quietly remorseful. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared at his feet, his head bowed.

"It's fine."

There was more silence. Kido glanced over at the dejected-looking boy. "The past is the past," she mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear. "It's hard to get over. I still haven't gotten over what happened to me. And they might not be the same, but I know how it feels to lose someone so important. I'm not saying you should forget about her; you should never forget. Just look forward and not back."

God, when had she gotten so philosophical? It felt more like she was trying to convince herself rather than him.

Tears began to stream down Hibiya's face, slowly at first, but then all at once. And he was shaking by himself, tears dripping to the floor.

Kido reached for him on instinct, the way Ayano always did, and held him to her side. She felt so protective of him in that instant, like his mother.

He cried until he couldn't cry anymore, so he just shook with sobs until he fell asleep.

Kido looked at his tear-stained face, and then back at the clock. It was three in the morning. But perhaps it was worth it.

Smoothing Hibiya's hair back, she tucked him in like a real mom would, and thought of how to make him feel better.

So… who in the Dan could cheer him up? Not her, most definitely. While she looked out for everyone, she wasn't really a cheerful person.

Certainly not Kano either. Marry might help, but Hibiya didn't really respect her and Marry seemed wary of him. Maybe Seto, perhaps? Seto seemed like a good option.

Kido didn't know Shintaro or Ene that well, and Seto would be the better option anyways.

Unless…

She decided she'd ask Momo to help Hibiya the next morning. After all, she seemed to know Hibiya pretty well, and the boy seemed to like her, despite his grumpy demeanor.

She got up swiftly and left the room.

As she closed the door, she shot Hibiya one last affectionate look, perhaps a little exasperated, and whispered softly, "Goodnight."


	2. Like Father, Like Son (7)

Shintaro really didn't know why he stayed with the Mekakushi Dan sometimes. Maybe it was because Kido's food was good. Or because his sister and Ene would bother him until he went. But either way, sometimes he felt like it didn't make up for it.

Normally, he would go on his phone with his earbuds plugged in, but Konoha had this weird thing for Shintaro's phone. And not anyone else's phone – just Shintaro's. And he wasn't about to get into an argument with Konoha about it; not when his friend (_Was_ Konoha his friend?) was so… _abnormal._

So he sulked off on the side, bearing the company of only the Kid Who Never Smiles – Hibiya.

They had some sort of mutual understanding there – they wanted to be there, but they would never admit it, and they'd spend most of the time hanging around on the side rolling their eyes. Hibiya thought Shintaro was a weirdo, and sometimes Shintaro thought Hibiya was a little creepy, but they made their weird friendship work.

Over Kido's dinner one day, Momo had suggested going to the amusement park, and both Shintaro and Hibiya vehemently disagreed to crowds, people, and sunlight, with the same bored expressions on their faces.

"Hibiya's more like you than I am," whined Momo to Shintaro, "It's like he's your brother, or your son or something."

Shintaro's mouth dropped open. "Momo!" he scowled. But Kano was already spouting possibilities.

"What if… Hibiya _is_ his son, eh?" he suggested. "Who would the mother be?"

"That girl he mopes about, of course!" piped up Ene, from Konoha's clutches. "Ayano-chan!" She glanced quickly at Shintaro, covering her mouth as though she had crossed some line, but Shintaro wasn't looking at her – he was too busy gaping as the table descended into mass confusion.

"Onee-chan?" demanded Kido in disbelief. "I _knew_ Shintaro acted like that guy she talked about…"

Momo added, "I've heard Shintaro talk about her a few times before! She was one of his only friends, from what I heard." She bumped Shintaro with her elbow and he scowled at her.

Seto tilted his head. "He _does_ have nee-chan's hair and eye color-"

"But Ayano was completely different," said Kido.

"But, obviously Hibiya's spent more time with Shintaro," laughed Kano. "I mean, just look at their expressions!"

Everyone surveyed their matching disgruntled faces and nodded. "Hibiya-san _does_ act a lot like Shintaro-sempai sometimes," offered Marry, tugging on Seto's sleeve. He smiled at her and nodded.

"What?" spluttered Shintaro. "I'm _eighteen_. And this kid's, like, twelve! I'd have to have been a father when I was six years old!" Kido nodded, but the logical comment seemed to go over everyone else's head.

"I _have_ a father already-"

"Adopted!" interrupted Kano, waving his finger in Hibiya's face.

"Hey!" cried Hibiya, slapping Kano's hand away and accidentally getting his own hand in one of the dishes. "Eugh."

"Here," said Marry, handing him a paper towel, but as she leaned across the table, her arm hit a tall pot and knocked it over.

Momo tried to mop up the sauce creeping across the table, but her elbow collided with Shintaro's Coke can, sending it rolling over the table and spewing Coke over everything.

"My soda!" exclaimed Shintaro, anguished.

"No, stop!"

"Who has more paper towels?"

"Why do things keep getting knocked over?"

"Don't do that!"

"Who threw that at me?!"

Shintaro leaned over to Hibiya. "Is it just me, or are they crazy?" he whispered.

Hibiya frowned. "Did you just realize that?" he replied.

Somewhat emotionlessly, the two surveyed the scene, with spilled food and flying food and all kinds of screaming.

"Do you want an ice-cream?" asked Shintaro, after a while.

Hibiya made a face, thinking. "Yeah, sure. If we get away from them."

"I'll pay for it. I need a new Coke, anyways."

Nobody noticed that they were gone until ten minutes later.

And if the lady at the ice-cream counter had said to Shintaro, "What a cute son you have!" well, no one would have to know.


	3. My Family Now (4)

Hibiya scowled as he rubbed his eyes, walking through the hallway of the Dan's apartment. He had decided to take a nap in his room out of boredom, but when he woke up, everyone was gone.

The living room was eerily silent and rather empty, he realized as he looked around. The window was shut and there was no one sitting on the couch that stood with its back facing him.

"Stupid," he muttered to himself. "They left me here alone…"

He walked to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of milk before walking back to the living room and approaching the couch. But as he walked to the front of the couch and saw a mass of white, curly hair _moving_…

"Ahhh!" Hibiya jerked back, surprised, and his milk splashed over the already-stained floor. Marry, jarred from her nap on the couch, screamed as well and fell off the couch, totally freaked out.

"Help!" she screamed. "Seto!"

Hibiya stopped screaming, panting and heart racing as he tried to assess the situation. But Marry was still looking around wildly, and when they locked eyes, he felt himself freeze. He tried to move his arm, but nothing happened. He couldn't even roll his eyes. Did she _really_ just paralyze him?

"Hib- Hibiya?" gasped Marry. "I didn't notice you! You scared me, and… Oh, I'm so sorry! I thought you were a burglar!" She jumped to her feet, jittery and somewhat frantic. "There's milk on the floor," she realized, wringing her hands anxiously. She dashed out of Hibiya's view and returned with paper towels and began to mop up the milk, pushing her dress back.

When the initial problems were all solved, she smiled happily and beamed at Hibiya. "I hope you don't mind being frozen!" she said, cheerily. But her voice shook, a little nervous, and she eyed him with a little bit of fright on her face. "It shouldn't last that long, I think." She laughed uneasily.

Hibiya couldn't move. Inside, her was cursing her out and feeling frustration churn in his stomach.

"Sorry," she apologized, again. "I didn't know you were home."

And why did she call out for Seto? Could she not protect herself, despite having a useful eye ability?

"Also, I'm sorry, because…" she trailed off, tugging on her dress. "Because even though the Dan is family, you kind of scare me," she confessed. "I don't like strangers. It's scary to see so many people…"

Hibiya's eye twitched. Well, at least he was starting to move again. And, he _really_ didn't want to listen to her stupid story. At _all._ Didn't she have anything better to do?

"And you weren't so…" Her voice was small and shaky. She kept glancing at him, fearfully. What did she expect him to do? Hit her with a stick?

"You're not that old," she mumbled.

_Did you just notice that?_ he screamed mentally. _Get on with it. I don't want to listen to your drivel all day._ His finger jerked.

"Almost _their_ age," said Marry, mostly to herself at that point. "The boys outside my tower. They were still able to hurt me, almost kill me." Her voice quieted so Hibiya could barely hear her. "They beat me up. They were carrying these giant clubs, and my mother…"

_We _all_ have been through this kind of thing_, dismissed Hibiya, hardening his heart and dying to turn away and not see the tear moving down her cheek. _It's no big deal. Just someone we care about, gone. No big deal._

She tried for a smile, but it was marred by her red cheeks and tear tracks and sniffling. "I'm sorry again. You probably didn't want to hear that."

_Yeah, no._ Hibiya wiggled his fingers, feeling grimly satisfied that feeling was starting to return to his legs.

"I just miss her so much. Sometimes, I feel like I shouldn't be living right now, without her," admitted Marry, wiping tears from her face. "But she gave her life for me," she continued, her voice strengthening. "So I'm going to enjoy it. And all of you are my family now. I'm glad."

She smiled, big and real, but tears kept coming. She wiped at them, but it didn't seem to be working that well.

Hibiya's legs trembled with the effort to move.

"I still miss her, though. There are so many things to miss. And it's so hard to forget, even after so much time. All those years, and I can't even forget… it makes me feel weak. I drag everyone down. I depend on Seto for everything, because I don't understand. I don't understand." Her tears soaked her face. "And I'm so clumsy, and she's not here to say it's alright. Like part of me is missing."

Hibiya stood, watching her numbly. Her words replayed in his mind. _It's so hard to forget. It makes me feel weak. Like part of me is missing._ He didn't move, couldn't move. He shifted his weight. And it worked.

He tested his fingers, took a hesitant step forward. Yep, he was moving again.

Slowly, he picked up the tissue box from the table by the couch and dumped it in Marry's lap, seating himself next to her on the couch. When she looked at him in surprise, he looked determinedly in the other direction. "_Don't_ forget," he mumbled, uncertainly, and still not meeting her gaze. "You don't have to."

Marry wiped her eyes with a tissue. "But… wouldn't I be stronger if I forgot?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"There's no strength in forgetting. And none… none in always looking back, either." His heart ached. His eyes were wet, but that didn't even matter. As long as the tears didn't escape.

One did, anyway. _Why was he so weak?_

Marry handed him a tissue, and they sat there in silence, shedding the occasional tear and saying nothing. Marry got up and made tea, and they settled comfortably on the couch with their drinks, still quiet. Finally, Hibiya got up and left.

That evening, during dinner, Marry was carrying a dish to the table and tripped. Her face turned scarlet-red as Kano laughed, "Nice one, Marry. That was Seto's favorite dish, too…"

_I just miss her so much. Sometimes I feel like I shouldn't be living now, without her. But she gave her life for me. All of you are my family now._

Before Seto could even open his mouth to scold Kano or comfort Marry, Hibiya snapped, "Shut up."

Kano's laughs stopped as they all looked at Hibiya. But Marry smiled at him, a little tentative and extremely grateful.

_All of you are my family now._

Okay, so Marry was kind of annoying sometimes. But, secretly, Hibiya had always hated being an only child. And, as far as sisters went, Marry wasn't the worst person to have.

Although, she was his _younger_ sister. It didn't matter that she was already over a hundred years old. Hibiya was older, for sure.


	4. Because They Care (2)

Hibiya didn't like Seto.

Fact was fact, no matter how harsh it was. Happy people made him suspicious, and Seto was the epitome of cheerful. Not to mention the fact that he had entered the daze with a _dog_. He hadn't even lost someone close to him or anything; he hadn't had to suffer from the bitter, cutting ordeal the rest of them had to go through. Nope, he had lost a pet.

Yeah, yeah, the dog was special to him, didn't look down on him, was his one true companion – didn't mean much, really. He probably hadn't cared for it half as much as Hibiya cared for…

No. _No._ He was fine. Completely and utterly fine and moved on.

Hibiya scowled, kicking his feet as he sat on the barely-moving playground swing. The swing he had sat on with _her_ and then the cat came and the truck and the blood mingled with her scent.

The swing came to an abrupt, chain-squeaking halt as he dug the heels of his sandals into the gravel. There was a crunching noise as he stopped and shaded his eyes to look at the dying sun. How long had he been sitting out for? A few hours, maybe.

Around him, two children laughed, running around. A boy and a girl. The three of them were the only ones present.

The kids ran off, leaving only him.

He sighed. He should probably be getting back to the Dan, in case they were worried. But then he thought about his dad, and the times when he left, expecting his dad to notice. But when he returned, he realized that his father hadn't even discovered his absence. It meant nothing to him whether Hibiya was there or not. Did the Dan think the same way?

He squeezed his eyes shut, imagining their greeting when he walked back in, Seto and Marry cheerfully waving as Oba-San mowed him down to demand where he'd been as Kido added, quietly and stoically, that they were worried. And Kano and Ene would laugh and tease, and Konoha would sit, uncomprehending and statue-like, with Shintaro who was _not_ his father.

Yeah, they'd have noticed he was missing. At least Oba-San and Kido would.

… right?

Maybe he meant nothing to them. Maybe they didn't want him around. Maybe he shouldn't go back.

Except he had nowhere else to go.

"You're wrong, you know," a voice cut through his thoughts. "We were really worried."

A startled, somewhat strangled scream erupted from Hibiya as he fell backwards, almost hitting his head on the ground. He flailed for a moment before two steady hands lifted him back into place.

"Sorry," said Seto sheepishly. "We couldn't find you, so we split up. And… I read your mind to trace you here. I'm sorry for invading the privacy of your thoughts."

Hibiya frowned, thinking for a moment. "Why aren't you with Marry?" he blurted. It was weird to not see them together; after all, Marry clung to Seto and Seto followed Marry everywhere.

"She's going with Momo," shrugged Seto, his expression and tone exuding worry as he tried to play it off for normal.

"Oba-San probably got them distracted," mumbled Hibiya, pushing his swing back and forth again, with his feet still firmly planted on the ground and his hands clutching the swing's chain. "Maybe they're searching for dried squid now."

_Or red bean soup with soda,_ he thought drily to himself, disgusted. _Or curry with pork cutlet topped with vanilla beans. Eugh._

Seto moved to sit on the swing next to Hibiya, who watched him with narrowed eyes. _That was where Hiyori… yup, he was sitting in it._ Irritation flashed through Hibiya's system, and he turned away, scowling.

"Actually, she seemed to be the most worried about you," said Seto, his cheerful smile still in place. "She was very determined to make sure you were safe. In fact, she was the one who proposed that we all split up to find you."

Hibiya felt a blow of surprise and a little bit of happiness, before bitterness bled in. "So she was the only one who cared enough to find me," he surmised, scowling.

"No, no," laughed Seto. "We were all going to find you. She just came up with the _how._"

Hibiya made a noise of acknowledgement in the back of his throat as he thought the whole thing over. So they were worried about him, huh? His father wouldn't take the time to find him. Even if he'd have noticed Hibiya's absence, he would've waited it out and beat him afterwards. Or thrown him outside to the wild dogs.

It was weird to be cared for. Like something was tying him down, _no_, it was tying him back to the Dan.

But it wasn't _that_ unpleasant, honestly, and there was this feeling when he thought about it, like eating Kido's home-made meals instead of cooking it himself, or listening to Momo practicing new songs out in front of Marry and Ene, or hearing escalating arguments between Kano and Kido, or smelling the disgustingly sweet smell of flowers when he returned to the apartment because Seto knew Marry liked them.

Seto turned to Hibiya, a wide smile still in place. But Hibiya noticed there was a sort of realness to it now, without the infusion of sadness and worry. He was relieved, joyful, loving like Hibiya was his own family. Maybe he was just so used to taking care of people that smiling was automatic, but this time, it was honest.

"Let's go home," suggested Seto, getting up and offering a hand to Hibiya.

Hibiya didn't take his hand, but he accepted the suggestion, anyways.

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**A/N: Momo's weird food choices were confirmed through Wikipedia, which is probably unreliable, but yeah.**


	5. Just Take Your Time (6)

**A/N Haha wrote this at like 1:00 AM and I'm too half-asleep to see if it makes any sense so it probably sucks really badly sorryyyyy yeah I'm kind of not awake right now idk let me know if this chapter's too horrible to be up and if I should take it down. Yeah.**

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"Why are you on my phone?"

Hibiya scowled, shaking his mobile device in irritation as Ene folded her arms condescendingly. "Look, kid," she began in her too-digital, high voice. "You gotta stop."

"Stop _what_?" demanded Hibiya, giving up on shaking her out of his phone with a huff of frustration.

"Throwing your own emotionless pity party." Ene blew up her cheeks and stuck out her tongue. "You're just like Shintaro."

"Is this about him being my dad again? He's not." Hibiya frowned, dropping his phone on the bench he was sitting on and slouching against a directory of the mall, featuring a giant ad of Momo dressed up in frills and lace.

"No, no. Your life isn't over because someone you like is gone," said Ene, pressing her hands against the screen and squishing herself up against it. "Pick up the phone. I wanna see your face when I'm talking to you."

Sighing, Hibiya picked up the phone and stared at her with a deadpan look. "It's not all about Hiyori-," he began, but Ene interrupted, loudly.

"Exactly! You're even mostly moved on. Just _let it go_."

"That's-" Hibiya stopped, fumbling for words before scowling deeply. "What do you know?"

"Wow, you wanna play that game, kid? Guy I liked _died_ and I could've saved him but I _left_ because I didn't know. He's come back to life completely different and emotionless and _he can't remember me_."

Ene scowled back at him, fiercely, her eyes snapping behind the screen. "And I don't say anything. Nobody knows or cares because that's _my business_. So shut your mouth because each time you open it, you don't know what you're talking about."

Hibiya didn't say anything. What're you supposed to do in situations like that? But Ene continued, "And now you have people who care, anyways, but what do you do? You keep running off and hiding because you don't know how to handle yourself."

"Everyone keeps talking about this!" said Hibiya, suddenly. "I'm _fine_, and I'll move on; it's not my fault I can't move on for some _stupid_ reason and I don't need people continuously reminding me there's something wrong, that I'm too weak and I should get over it, because I already know! Maybe I could forget about it if people didn't act like it's something _so_ big every time! It doesn't even hurt as much as it should anymore because everyone's blowing this out of proportion and you're all like, 'We're you're family now,' but you're _not_, and you'll never be my family!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he could feel them sting on his lips. The Dan _was_ his family, or at least the closest to one he'd ever had, and they cared more than they ought to. But he was tired of being babied all the time because he'd lost someone recently, when they'd all moved on.

He was the weakling for still caring. Kido and Kano and Seto dealt with losing two entire sets of families, but they still were fine, even if they went through loss sometimes. Marry and Momo both lost a parent and they were so cheerful _all the time._ And Shintaro… Well, everybody in the Dan suffered losses. They all suffered, but they dealt with it, while, apparently, Hibiya couldn't.

He pressed his lips together, turning away from Ene as tears of shame smarted behind his eyes. But Ene didn't seem impressed.

"Look," she said, her cybernetic voice conveying more emotion than he'd heard before. "It's suffocating. When you're not used to being cared for, and someone cares – like, really cares – it's stressful. It's hard. It's confusing. But we all mean well, so shut up and smile and maybe that'll make you feel better when you look back on this later. _What if we all died right now?_ Won't you be so freakin' mad at yourself?"

Hibiya glanced back at his phone, something forceful in Ene's voice surprising him. She was scowling at the distance, pulling on the edge of her skirt and looking like she dropped her winning lottery ticket in the street.

He thought back on what she'd said. If the Dan died at that moment… he wouldn't have anyone anymore. He wouldn't have shown them how much he appreciated them.

"Sorry," he mumbled to Ene, the closest he'd go to a full-on apology.

Ene shrugged, snapping out of her distress and nodding in acknowledgement. "Momo's coming," she said. "Well, her phone is anyways. C'mon, kid. Get up."

So Hibiya grudgingly got to his feet, feeling a twinge of something missing when Ene disappeared from his phone. But then he saw Momo searching frantically, Marry at her heels, and he let a small smile make its way onto his face. Slowly, he raised his hand and waved to her.


	6. Drop the Act (3)

**Yeahhh I'm on a writing kick at like three in the morning and like with the last chapter tell me if this one sucks super badddd and like yeah this one's not even a little angsty it's just sappy and full of sickness and soup 'cause Kano's a total baller.**

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"So… how's school?"

Hibiya scowled at Kano, whose creepy smile never faded.

"It's summer," he deadpanned.

"Oh, my mistake. I forget what school's like and all." Kano rested his arms behind his head airily. "So, kid, how old are you again? Eight? Nine?"

"I'm _twelve years old._"

"Ah, practically an old man, eh? I see. That explains the way you act all the time." Kano smiled even wider, not a particularly happy kind of smile, but more of an _I-know-something-you-don't_ sort of smirk.

Hibiya didn't respond – any wrong move now and Kano would have him in his evil trap of doom or something totally Kano-like.

"Hey, Hibiya-_chan_, it's rude to ignore people, y'know."

Hibiya dug his fingers into the couch cushion and looked outside. _Why did the Dan leave me with him again? Oh, right, because everyone went to the amusement park and I was an idiot by saying I didn't want to go when Kano's sick and they wanted someone to take care of him. Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid…_

"_Hibiya-chan_ I'm hungry. Aren't ya supposed to make me something to eat? 'Cause I'm _so_ sick? Doubt you could make anything better than Kido's food, though…" Kano stretched lazily and rolled over. "Soup would be nice, eh?"

_I'm not doing anything for this idiot_, thought Hibiya, frowning. But then Kano started _singing_ or whatever the hell that screeching was supposed to be and Hibiya made his escape out of the room. _Okay, fine, I'll cook something,_ he sighed. _Hiyori and Konoha said my food was good…_

He opened the fridge, which was practically empty, and sweat-dropped. There were a few scattered and decaying vegetables, a half-empty carton of eggs, a kind-of eaten bowl of rice, and an army of soda cans (most likely for the Kisaragi siblings who were obsessed with the stuff).

Sighing, he separated the inedible vegetables from the good ones and set to work making egg-drop soup and fried rice.

When he brought the food substance to Kano, he looked… well, he looked horrible. His nose and eyes were red and he was sweating. Badly. And he was blowing his nose. Okay, ew.

But then he looked up at Hibiya and he went back to looking like his normal self. "Oh, Hibiya-chan, you made me food!" he exclaimed, mock-proudly, with a sly smirk sliding across his features.

Hibiya frowned, dropping the food on his bedside table. "You can drop the act," he said, blandly. "I don't care."

"What act?" asked Kano, his eyes widening momentarily after tasting the soup. "Wow, Hibiya-chan, your food is actually pretty good. You'd make a good housewife." And then he started laughing like he was insane.

"Fine," shrugged Hibiya. "Pretend you're okay. Not like it makes a difference to me."

Kano tilted his head, evaluating Hibiya for a moment and squinting. Finally he shrugged and went back to looking terribly sick. "You should drop the act, too," he said with a slightly hoarse voice.

"What act?" Hibiya scowled, slouching back onto the couch.

"The one where you act like you don't care." Kano chewed his rice thoughtfully – well, as thoughtful as you can look with bloodshot eyes and an obvious cold.

"I don't act like tha-"

"Hey, I dropped _my_ act for the moment, remember?" Kano smiled, catlike again, tilting his head to direct the full evilness of his grin at Hibiya.

"I _don't_."

Kano shrugged again, poking at his soup. "Hey, whatever you wanna think, kid. But when you lie too much, it's hard to see clearly anymore."

_What do you know?_ Hibiya wanted to say, but then he realized Kano seriously knew what he was talking about, so he said nothing.

There was a brief silence besides Kano's spoon scraping the inside of the bowl – a cringe-worthy sound, in Hibiya's opinion. He cleared the plates and went back to sitting next to Kano awkwardly.

"I'm tired and you're boring," complained Kano finally. "I'm going to sleep."

"You mean you're incredibly tired and want to seem less weak," corrected Hibiya, not looking away from the stain on the floor he'd been staring at.

"Well, you've finally caught on, kid." Hibiya could hear the tired grin in Kano's voice, even if he wasn't looking. It only took a moment for Kano's breaths to even out, signaling he'd gone to sleep. Come to think of it, Hibiya was kind of sleepy, too. Maybe he'd go back to his room to take a nap…

* * *

"Everyone's gone ice-skating," the too-cheerful voice of Kano announced as Hibiya groaned. "Looks like I'll be taking care of you."

"Can't believe you got me sick," complained Hibiya, his voice distorted by his stuffy nose.

"I can't cook so we're getting takeout," said Kano, ignoring Hibiya's comment and plopping onto the chair next to him.

"Drop the act," mumbled Hibiya. "I'm too sick to put up with you when you're so annoying."

"Drop yours and I'll drop mine, little shota-man?"

"_Never call me that again. _And deal."


	7. Scrapes and Broken Ribs (9)

**A/N: THIS IS AN ACTUALLY IMPORTANT NOTE. THERE'S GOING TO BE MILD VIOLENCE AND OTHER SLIGHTLY WEIRD GOING-ONS IN THIS CHAPTER SO IF YOU WERE LOOKING FOR FLUFF N' STUFF THIS MAY NOT BE FOR YOU. If you acknowledge this... please proceed. :)**

* * *

"Let me _go_!"

Hibiya struggled, flailing and kicking. _The big city… and I thought I'd seen it all, _a tiny still-rational part of his mind commented dryly. The rest of his brain was either screaming or shut down in numbing fear.

"C'mon, kid! Lie down, will ya?" The man shoved Hibiya to the ground, kicking him in the ribs. Hibiya rolled to the side and coughed, feeling searing pain as he did.

"D'you think he'll even fetch ransom money?" scoffed a man standing off on the side, his arms folded as he regarded Hibiya with disgust. "If not, well, he's seen our faces. It would be best to just end him right here."

The man who kicked Hibiya cocked his head to the side. "I dunno," he said. "Ransom's risky. And who's his family even? I mean, _ha_, he dresses like a poor country kid!"

"You're right. We should just kill him now, I suppose."

Hibiya's eyes widened, shocked. He scrambled backward. "Stop!" he screamed, eyes flaring red.

One man squinted at Hibiya. "What's up with the kid's eyes?" he asked.

"Whaddaya mean?"

"They're _red_, you idiot."

"Doesn't mean much to me."

"Then get on with it."

"You're the one who stopped me!"

As the two bickered, Hibiya wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Scanning the roads all around him, he tried to see if there was anyone who could call the police in time.

There was nobody, really, besides some guy a block or so away that was heading in that direction. Would he be able to help?

He had weird white hair and was holding negima- _Was that Konoha?_

Hibiya tried to crawl towards the end of the alley, but the man kicked him again and he fell to the side.

"Did you really think we wouldn't notice you trying to escape? Not like it's gonna-"

"KONOHA! KONO-"

"Shut him up, will you?"

Hibiya gritted his teeth, pushing himself up from where he'd been kicked again. All he could hope for now was that Konoha had heard and would run in with his superhuman strength and-

Something was pressing against his temple. A cold, metal something that was going to go off and end his life at any minute. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Say goodbye, ki- Ah!"

Hibiya's eyes flew open. Konoha was clutching the end of the gun, squeezing until it crunched under his fingers.

"You were trying to hurt my friend," he said tonelessly. The two men scrambled backwards.

"I can't let you hurt my friend." Konoha took a step toward them, flinging the broken gun to the side. His fist connected with the side one of the men's temple and the man crumpled, knocked out.

"No, please! I'll do anything! I'll give you all the money you want!"

"I don't want money. I want to have friends."

"I- I'll be your friend! Just let me go!"

"I already have my friends."

Konoha swung his fist, knocking the other man out.

Hibiya groaned, pushing himself up. Konoha turned, looking at him. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"Well, _yes_!"

Konoha knelt by him, scanning his face. Finally, he bent down and scooped him up.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hibiya yelled, before clutching his side in pain.

"I'll carry you."

Hibiya's cheeks colored as his eyes narrowed. "_Let me go! _I'm not a little kid!"

Konoha ignored him, and Hibiya finally sighed. "Just take me back to the Dan," he relented. "It's not that bad. Kido's fixed Kano up for worse."

Konoha nodded. "You are not that hurt?"

"No."

Neither of them said any more as Konoha walked, but Hibiya stopped struggling.

Hibiya frowned, holding his side, uncomfortable with Konoha's silence. But he relaxed slowly. _Peaceful silence isn't all that bad_, he decided finally. After all, he needed to brace himself for Momo's worried screeching when he got back.


	8. Time to Go (5)

**A/N: Next chapter is the last one. T^T The end of one of the few Hibiya-centric multi-chapter fanfics on this site... Seriously, there needs to be more of these! And more KagePro fics in general!  
****Btw, this fic was inspired by "Someone" who wrote that I should write a chapter "about the end of the summer when Hibiya's supposed to be going home." So I did. Enjoy, "Someone"!**

* * *

"Here!"

Hibiya glanced down, frowning, as Momo shoved an ice-cream cone at him.

"Eat up! It's really good, I promise! It's even pumpkin flavored – you like pumpkins, don't you?"

She pushed the cone at him again, drops of it already melting down the side and splattering onto the sidewalk next to his sandals. Sighing, Hibiya gave in to his frosty fate and accepted the cone, plopping onto the park bench next to Momo.

The leaves that swirled down were in browns and reds and oranges. It was only the end of August and the whole city had already been hit full-force by autumn. In honor of the colder winds, Momo's favorite café had lined pumpkins out front and began offering pumpkin-flavored drinks and food – a western tradition that the store quickly adopted (They called themselves a ヒップスター type café after the term "hipster" in English, where they mostly served strange Western-style food). Hibiya loved this time of year - he actually liked it especially more this year; pumpkins were his favorite vegetable, after all.

Yet he hated it at the same time, because it meant second term was about to start.

The ice-cream was actually pretty good for a poor imitation of American food (and for something that Oba-san liked), but the normal lighthearted mood that Momo seemed to emanate on a daily basis was replaced with thick, awkward silence. Hibiya got the feeling that she had something she wanted to say, but she wasn't sure how to bring up the topic, or maybe she wasn't sure how he'd react.

And he knew what she wanted to say; what else would it be?

He let the silence drag on, licking the ice-cream dribbles down his cone. Momo would crack soon; she always said what she thought, so she wasn't used to holding things in. But he'd rather not talk about it.

"You-," she started, before shooting him a look and huffing in resignation. With a somehow comical frown, she slumped back into the bench and bit off a chunk of ice-cream from her cone.

Silence ensued. Hibiya waited.

"You can always come back, you know," blurted Momo, looking at him like she was afraid he'd refuse. "After the next term, we'll all want you back."

Hibiya lowered his eyes. He really didn't want to leave; if he did, then the Dan might forget about him completely. They might not want him to come back. And he didn't want to lose his family, a family that loved him so foolishly and wholeheartedly. Besides, he wasn't sure if his dad would let him ever return. But he had to return to his parents and go to school like nothing had ever happened.

More silence continued, and Momo's frown deepened. Her ice cream was melting, but she wasn't eating it.

"Do you not want to?" she asked finally, ending the quiet.

"That's not it!" Hibiya's cheeks turned scarlet at the words that had jumped out of his mouth. Fumbling, he tried to correct himself; "I just… I don't know if I can come back or not." It was half the truth.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Momo looked at him. "But you'll try, right? It won't be the same without you. Everyone knows it."

"Yeah."

"For sure?"

Hibiya paused, watching the leaves swirl on the ground. Finally, his gaze met Momo's, determined. "Definitely."

* * *

The day he left, Marry burst into tears at the train station. Seto held her, saying, "Don't cry, Marry-chan. You'll make everyone sad. He'll come back, promise." He looked up and offered a strained smile to Hibiya, waving.

Kano and Kido stood together, Kano smiling stupidly and Kido's face emotionless, her natural response to hard situations (something he'd learned whenever he saw Kano return at night with cuts and bruises running along his arms). In the light, it almost looked like their eyes were red from tears. But that couldn't be right.

On the other hand, Oba-san was grinning brightly, hugging him like she wanted to suffocate him but somehow crying at the same time.

Off to the side, Haruka was smiling sadly (wow, it was weird to see him as Haruka instead of Konoha), and Takane was actually smiling, too, the corner of her lips pulled up and a proud look in her eyes, almost like he was her son leaving for school with his backpack on and everything.

A lump formed in his throat as he turned to wave goodbye.

He tried to look brave and unaffected, but then he looked at their red faces and, for a moment, Kano's form flickered. The action made tears spill from his eyes and _he promised he wouldn't cry_ but…

The train lurched and sped off, blurring their faces, or maybe it was just his tears.


	9. The Happy Ending (0)

A/N: Oh, the sugar and fluff-filled ending! Anime-centric; y'know, the one where Ayano magically reappears like a boss.

* * *

**Mekakucity Actors Ending**

"We all really missed you, y'know," said Ayano, her face splitting into a too-wide smile. "I didn't know you that well, either, but it still felt wrong. I'm so glad you're coming back!"

Hibiya nodded sullenly, digging the toe of his sandal onto the train's floor.

"You…" Ayano paused, tilting her head as she studied his expression. "You don't look very happy, Hibiya-kun."

Hibiya shrugged and looked away, causing Ayano to purse her lips.

There was a beat of silence before Ayano leaped to her feet, tugging on the end of her fraying red scarf and standing with her hands on her hips like some superhero.

"I order you to tell me what's wrong, Hibiya-kun," she demanded, breaking her pose to point at his face, almost poking his nose. "Heroes don't let their comrades suffer in silence!"

Hibiya let out a resigned sigh before relenting. "I don't think it'll be the same," he admitted, eyes downcast. "You all probably forgot about me. You don't really need me around anymore or anything. I'll be an outcast or something." Slightly ashamed, he glanced back at Ayano to see her thinking furiously.

"Hibiya-kun, you've got it all wrong," she announced finally. "You see, while you were gone, we missed your presence _more_. A member of our very own team was missing! That can't be ignored."

"I'm not really a member of the team anymore."

Ayano frowned deeply at his words, tugging more at her scarf. Suddenly, her eyes brightened in a way that made Hibiya kind of scared.

"What're you-"

He let out a strangled squeak as Ayano lunged forward, proceeding to seize his wrist, yank him to his feet, and hold his hand up high for everyone in the train compartment to see as she shook his arm and proclaimed, "THIS BOY IS PART OF THE MEKAKUCITY DAN, PROTECTORS OF THE CITY AND SAVIORS OF THIS UNIVERSE!" As his face flamed, he scowled and tried to jerk his hand back, but Ayano clutched onto him tighter, wailing, "We'll never let him go!"

The onlookers looked rather confused: some laughing, some staring in fascination, and some looking completely freaked-out by the scene. Someone yelled, "You tell your little brother!" which resulted in an awful lot of applause.

Finally succeeding in wrenching himself free, Hibiya dove back into his seat and groaned. Ayano sat back down next to him and said cheerfully, "You act just like Shintaro!"

Hibiya just sighed in exasperation. How in the world was he the more mature one when she was so much older than him?!

A mechanical voice resonated through the train's speakers, and people began to get up, moving slowly to the doors. Ayano's face lit up, and she hopped to her feet, offering Hibiya a hand. "This is our stop," she clarified as he blinked at her.

He was a little scared to go forward, to see the Dan again after all that time. But Ayano grinned cheerily and forcefully took his hand, _again_, to pull him to the doors.

As they slid open, he saw everyone standing there, waving frantically with blinding smiles. "Hibiya!" cried Momo, and they began to run forward, toward his frozen form.

After all those months… they still remembered him.

A smile slid onto his face, unbidden, as he thought, _Of course they did. They're family._


	10. The Other Ending (0)

A/N: Song Series-centric, with Ayano gone, but before everyone separates because, in all honesty, I hate that it ended like that. :'(

* * *

**The Kagerou Project Ending**

At first, it was just in his dreams. He'd slide into sleep to find himself confronted with her small smile and her, "Hi, Hibiya-kun."

There wasn't really much to say. He would walk through the blank landscape of his dreamland to stand by her side and nod in acknowledgement. At first, the dream had somewhat bewildered him, but it was already pretty obvious who she was. He'd heard enough about her, anyways.

"Watch," she'd say, running her hand through the whiteness before her, opening a blurry video of the Dan.

They'd stand there in companionable silence, watching the scenes with a sense of longing and a feeling that they belonged there, even though they sort of didn't.

Sometimes, Ayano would try to make conversation.

"So… Shuuya, Kousuke, and Tsubomi are doing well?" she'd ask, her eyes still glued to the screen like she wanted to fall through it - down, down, down and back into the cotton-candy warmth of the Dan. "It seems like they are." She'd run her hand over their faces with a soft smile. "Though Shuuya seems to be having a little trouble, sometimes."

It would take a minute for him to translate their names into how he knew them. _Kano. Seto. Kido_. "Yeah," he'd say, watching their faces with a furrowed brow. "Kido beats up Kano a lot, though."

"Mhmm. It's kind of cute, though, huh?"

"Not really."

"And Marry is so sweet. I think she and Kousuke are really great together!"

"I guess. They're always together, anyways."

Ayano would add commentary to the scenes, little, "Oh, I should've expected that from Shintaro!"s or "Takane and Haruka are getting along better than I even imagined!"

And he'd nod, politely, without saying anything. Because he knew "Takane" as "Ene" and "Haruka" as "Konoha." But everything had changed and, without really seeing it in person, it was hard to get used to.

Sometimes, he'd wonder if Ayano should take his place in the Dan, or if she was bitter about her passing. He asked her about it once, but she just shrugged it off with a smile and didn't answer.

And then she started appearing around him, in real life.

He'd be walking through the hallways at school, hearing whispers about Hiyori's disappearance erupt whenever he passed. And he'd scan the shifting faces of his classmates to see a flash of a red scarf and dark hair, a sad, yet comforting smile.

Soon, she began to appear for long stretches of time, sitting silently next to him in class or leaning over him as he did his homework.

"Hi, Hibiya-kun," she'd say, popping into existence suddenly and clasping her hands behind her back with a smile. "Am I bothering you?"

They became friends, sort of. They talked and she laughed and he shrugged off the fact that she really just wanted a connection back to the Dan and she'd somehow found it through him.

Not to mention that she had a seemed obsessed with Shintaro and constantly reminded Hibiya that he was practically a "shota-version" of the boy in question, and therefore could be his son. Which was kind of scary.

And now he was on the train ride back to the Dan, seemingly alone, as no one could see Ayano's translucent form sitting next to him, her hands folded in her lap and her smile just a crescent sliver of dim light.

"Are you excited?" she asked.

"No," he answered, sullenly. "They probably don't want me back."

But Ayano shook her head, resolute. "They're family," she reminded him. "They really miss you, you know."

Hibiya shrugged. "You, too," he responded, and Ayano pursed her lips, leaving Hibiya to wonder whether she fell between joy at still being remembered and guilt for putting them through grief.

"It's different," she said, and they both heard the words lingering unbidden in the air: _Unlike you, I'll never be able to go back._

But she waved the sullen moment away and smiled brightly like it would fix everything, wrapping her nonexistent fingers around his wrist and urging him forwards.

"This is the stop," she informed him, cheerfully.

He pushed himself to his feet, offering her a rare smile.

"Let's go," she said, squeezing his hand in anticipation as the train doors began to slide open. Finally, they'd see the real faces of the Dan again.

As light flooded through the widening crack between the train doors, he heard wailing erupt. "Hibiyaaaaaaa!"

Ayano's hand tightened on his, passing through his skin. Her lips moved to form words, the sunlight filtering through her warm, flickering form, before the wind swept her away and back into nothingness. She was gone the second the Dan collided with him, knocking him to the floor.

As they swarmed him, he pushed himself up, stunned, to stare at where she had stood. Throughout the whole summer, she had never said that to him once. So what did this mean?

The wind picked up again, ruffling his hair like Ayano's hand, whispering, "Goodbye," like it was carrying her voice.


End file.
